Page 57 of The Satyr's Guilt
His words were met with grunts, nods, andyeahs.
Darius fingered the snake tat on his neck.“Keep in touch. If we have nothing after the searches, meet on thesouth end of the village.”
Jarek pulled his spear from the earth,hefted it point up, and gathered his shield. “We will locate thisfemale if she exists. We will find her among the living, or we willuncover a body to honor with the funeral pyre of the Cede. She willnot cry out for help unheard or slip forgotten into the eternalnight of the Evermore. We remember her.” The djinn commanderdeepened his voice, his resolve firm.
He hated to think beings might be coweringin the dark with nowhere to turn. Nobody to help them while they’reravaged daily, used for sport, used for food. Even though they werehumans, he cared. He recalled the torment of hopelessness. Despitehis torture being centuries ago, his memory was long.
Darius spun his hand tosignal a go. The Firebrands marched to their stronghold’s portal,touched their wrists, and disappeared one by one.
****
Mars ushered another group of men into thedoctor’s lab. Each were directed to drink a full glass of water anhour earlier.
Dr. Messenger washed his hands before heopened the refrigerator to remove a vial of medicine. He signaledthe first subject to take a stool. “Lay your left arm on thetable.”
His assistant, a thin man in his earlytwenties wearing a white lab coat, palpated the subject’s vein. Heprepared the injection site with alcohol and a rubbertourniquet.
Lifting a syringe in his hand like a pencil,point up, the doctor pulled the plunger back before he inserted theneedle into the vial. He pushed on the plunger, holding thecontainer upside down while he filled it. He tapped the syringebefore he removed it from the vial, motioning his assistant asideso he could administer the proper dosage into his patient’svein.
The doctor prepared another dose.“Next.”
The Messenger guy who had created this juicewas a genius. A Mad Hatter but a genius.
The subjects would return to the lab weeklyto get a new shot of superhuman strength. It was worth it. Energycoursed through Mars, making him something he’d never dreamed ofbecoming. Not invincible. Rather, faster, stronger. The jitterynerves, which accompanied a rise in aggression after theinjections, were manageable so far.
Once each man finished, Mars directed him toone of the many cots in another section of the lab where awhite-coat employee waited to help him settle in.
Dante’s general would hang around for a bitwhile his men slept. Once he woke them, he’d accompany them to thegym and track for a workout. The effects would be felt graduallyover the next twenty-four hours. Each soldier would gain speed,endurance, and strength. Not as much as the Aeternals naturallypossessed, but a damn sight better than before. He’d warn them tokeep a lid on the aggression.
Once his super army wasready, the units would move into a new compound with barracks,labs, dining hall, gym, and outdoor training grounds. Humans Firstwas gonna take out those otherworld bastards.
****
Jarek pulled back a hide covering thedoorway, ducked, and strode into the hut. Darius and Kara had bounda berserker and a female succubus to a massive bed made ofhand-worked logs.
The abode was a disaster. Drawers andcabinets were open, items were tossed about and furnitureupended.
The Firebrand commander slid his palm alongthe rail of the bedstead, stroking the peeled timber. “Niceworkmanship. You?” His piercing gaze landed on the berserker.
“Yes, sir.” Despite the captured male’ssize, he trembled.
Fear.
The emotion showed he was smarter than helooked but, possibly, guilty.
The more confident succubus, holding a sheetso it barely covered her breasts, said, “I’m only a visitor whospent the night.” She glanced downward, the covering slipping,exposing a plump breast. “Oops.”
Kara snorted. “Just because you have nomodesty doesn’t mean you’re deaf and mute.”
Darius fingered his snake tattoo.“Sweetheart, give the succubus a break. She’s only spreading thelove.”
Kara flipped her gaze toward herfreron, a smirk playing on her lips. “Spreading her legs ismore like it.”
“Jealous?” The succubus shot a deadly glareat the female Firebrand.
Jarek continued to stroke the bed frame.“Your love life and your tits mean fuck all to me. What isimportant is the human who is being held as a slave. Tell us abouther.”
The berserker exchanged a look with thesuccubus, both shaking their heads. The male, however, immediatelycast his gaze downward. He was hiding something.
